Bungie has released the new Gametypes from tomorrows Action Sack Playlist (And brought back Alpha Zombies) to the public.
Alpha Zombies
In Halo 3, the Alpha Zombies gametype was used to make various Infection Custom games. Halo Reach shipped without this valued gametype. Now its back in Halo Reach. I haven't quite had the time to tinker with it yet. Download it here.
With the next two gametypes brings a new gametype category called "Insane".
Haloball
In this gametype, Golf Balls spawn on specific points and players use Gravity Hammers to hit them towards a board which has multiple goals that each have different point values. The goals are created by team specific hill markers labeled as goals with spawn sequencer set to the point value of the goal. If the Golf Ball reaches the goal, it will be scored and your team will score points equal to the score specified in the object properties. Download.
Speedpile
The idea of this gametype was based on Stockpile and allows players to carry multiple flags on their back while still using weapons, vehicles and equipment. When a player touches a flag it will automatically attach to their back and will only drop when they are killed. Flags can be assigned different point values which are displayed above the flag in your HUD. Flags which are worth more than 1 point will be larger and on fire as well. Delivering the flags to your Speedpile goal zone will instantly score them and cause the flags to respawn at their original location. Download.
Power Slayer
This Slayer gametype is designed to allow players to gain special traits based on the types of kills they perform. Currently there are traits for Basic Kill, Melee Kill, Assassination Kill and Headshot Kill. Each time you perform one of these kills you will gain the traits assigned to that kill for 10 seconds. Killing another player during this period will refresh your timer back to 10 seconds and extend your powers. You can also chain them together to gain multiple types of powers, so if you Melee Kill a player and then Headshot Kill a player before your timer runs out, you’ll gain the traits of both kill types. We haven’t finalized the default traits for each kill type yet, but these will also be configurable in custom games so you can create your own! Download.
Here is a quick example video that I took with what the default traits will be. Do note that there is a timer for the traits but to keep the video length reasonable I did not wait till the timer ran out.
Playlist Update...Update
We've also got word that the Playlist Update should be out by the Afternoon. Community BTB will arrive April 2nd, Action Sack and Team Classic will go up tomorrow as scheduled.
A poster on GTA Forums have dug up more domains registered by Rockstar. The domains listed below are on the same domain block as www.grandtheftatuo5.com.
That's not all, a tweet by Actor and Comedian Gilbert Gottfried stated that he was voice lead in Grand Theft Auto 5:
"just found out I'm voicing the lead in grand theft auto 5!"
The Tweet was taken down, but not before The Noble Eskimo caught a glimpse. When the site contacted Rockstar North for comment the only response was an image of a poster for Problem Child, a 1990 film that Gottfried starred in.
There have been numerous clues this year so far relating to GTA 5. We all know its in the works, but when it will be annouced and released is a mystery.
What if Rockstar released it this fall? Do you think it would sell well along side Saints Row 3?
No idea.
I'll keep updating this blog with more clues of GTA V and any other gaming news I stumble upon.
On March 29th, Bungie will be deploying the April Matchmaking to Halo Reach. See below for the changes:
ACTION SACK
This is a new 4v4 playlist inspired by community map and game variants. The initial lineup isn’t as insane as some players may expect, we’re using this playlist to introduce new gametypes that we’ve scripted up. We’ll be looking at feedback and suggestions for future additions to this playlist, so drop by the Optimatch forum and tell us about your favorite wacky 4v4 gametypes!
Power Slayer
This Slayer gametype is designed to allow players to gain special traits based on the types of kills they perform. Currently there are traits for Basic Kill, Melee Kill, Assassination Kill and Headshot Kill. Each time you perform one of these kills you will gain the traits assigned to that kill for 10 seconds. Killing another player during this period will refresh your timer back to 10 seconds and extend your powers. You can also chain them together to gain multiple types of powers, so if you Melee Kill a player and then Headshot Kill a player before your timer runs out, you’ll gain the traits of both kill types. We haven’t finalized the default traits for each kill type yet, but these will also be configurable in custom games so you can create your own!
Speedpile
The idea of this gametype was based on Stockpile and allows players to carry multiple flags on their back while still using weapons, vehicles and equipment. When a player touches a flag it will automatically attach to their back and will only drop when they are killed. Flags can be assigned different point values which are displayed above the flag in your HUD. Flags which are worth more than 1 point will be larger and on fire as well. Delivering the flags to your Speedpile goal zone will instantly score them and cause the flags to respawn at their original location. This is not a Stockpile variant, so if you want to setup your own maps to work with the gametype you’ll need to Forge it using the Speedpile game variant to have access to the appropriate labels.
Speedflag
This one is pretty simple, it’s a CTF variant which allows you to carry the flag on your back at all times. Just like in Speedpile, you can still use weapons, vehicles and equipment without dropping the flag. It’s worth mentioning that the only way to drop the flag is to either score or be killed, so make sure you want to carry the flag as long as possible before picking it up, you can’t pass it off to a teammate without sacrificing yourself. This game variant will work with any map which is already setup for CTF.
HammerBall / Hockey
In this gametype, Golf Balls spawn on specific points and players use Gravity Hammers to hit them towards a board which has multiple goals that each have different point values. The map we setup was one we found in the Community and we mirrored it so each team of 4 is back to back with a barrier preventing them from interfering with each other, unless of course you’re playing HammerBall Xtreme. The goals are created by team specific hill markers labeled as goals with spawn sequencer set to the point value of the goal. If the Golf Ball reaches the goal, it will be scored and your team will score points equal to the score specified in the object properties. This brings me to our next gametype… Hockey! Hockey uses a game variant of HammerBall and is played on a hockey rink map that we found in the Community as well.
TEAM CLASSIC
This is a new 4v4 playlist featuring game variants with no equipment and custom settings, as well as remakes of Classic Halo maps we found in the Community.
Player Traits which differ from default Slayer:
Shield Recharge Rate 110%
Health Recharge Rate 110%
Damage Modifier 110%
Melee Modifier 75%
Player Speed 120%
Jump Height 125%
Player Gravity 150%
Maps we plan to use:
Battle Canyon
Dreadnought
High Noon
Hydro
Magus
Prolonged
Prophet
Rat Trap
Rockout
COMMUNITY BTB
Our first round of Community BTB will run in April, featuring BTB maps from the Forgetacular submissions. Future rounds of Community BTB will be lovingly crafted by our Community Cartographers group.
Maps we plan to use:
Bendarius Ridge
Montana Gambit
Outcrop
Renegade
Ridged
Rift
MLG
The MLG playlist will be updated with the MLG V3 maps and gametypes.
Random List of Additional Changes
KOTH now has game variant support for Multiple Teammate Scoring allowing multiple teammates to gain score for their team while in the hill.
All KOTH matchmaking variants now have a hill movement time of 1 minute.
All KOTH matchmaking gametypes now allow equipment use while in the hill (2v2/4v4 gametypes limit equipment to Sprint, Jetpack and Hologram – Armor Lock removed from all KOTH loadouts).
All KOTH matchmaking gametypes now have 1 frag starting grenades.
Added a HUD widget for CTF gametypes which show when your flag is away from home or held by an enemy.
More softkills on Pinnacle, Uncaged, Hemorrhage, Countdown and Asylum.
Modified all default matchmaking map variants to support a static initial hill while playing Crazy Random King.
Slayer game variants in 6v6 playlists are now 75 to win.
3 Ball is now 300 to win.
Replaced Banshees with Falcons in all non-Invasion gametypes on Breakpoint.
Increased Banshee respawn time to 180s on Paradiso.
Decreased the frequency of Bro Slayer and Invasion Skirmish in the Noble Map Pack playlist.
Replaced all Slayer game entries on The Cage with Uncaged in all playlists.
Removed all objective game entries on The Cage in all playlists.
Removed Pinnacle from Team Snipers.
Removed Evade from The Arena and Double Team gametypes.
Halo Reach's Man in Charge of Matchmaking, Jeremiah/Ninja on Fire has confirmed that Alpha Zombies(The Gametype that was used to make many Custom Games in H3, but was cut from Reach for unknown reasons) will (without any delays) be coming to Halo Reach in April.
Other Possible Gametypes that could be coming to Reach are:
-A Stockpile Game Variant where you can pick up flags just by touching them and carry multiple flags at once and still be able to use your Weapons. Bringing the flags to their scoring zone would collect them all immediately.
-CTF is also being played around with. We could possibly also see the ability to Carry Flags and use your Gun/AA's at the same time.
Exciting to see Bungie's making new and innovative Gametypes for the community.
Certain Affinity (The folks who made the Blastacular map Pack for Halo 2) have partnered with Microsoft to create the second Download Content for Halo Reach, called the Defiant Map Pack.
Condemned: Condemned takes place aboard Orbital Station Gamma, a massive space station high in orbit above the planet Reach. Prior to the Covenant’s overwhelming invasion, Orbital Station Gamma provided long range communications for UNSC fleets and a vital lifeline between Reach and Earth. During the Battle of Reach, the station suffered terrible punishment at the hands of the Covenant but a few fortified sections remain intact, fully pressurized, and ready for combat. Condemned supports 6 – 12 players in a variety of action-packed game types, including Team Slayer, Team Objective and Free for All.
Highlands: Highlands takes place on the top-secret Military Wilderness Training Preserve on Reach. The Preserve is a large, wooded area where Spartan super-soldiers trained long before the war with the Covenant began. During the Battle of Reach, the Preserve was the site of key battles between the alien invaders and a group of Spartans who used their familiarity with these UNSC training grounds to significant tactical advantage…but not everyone who enters these woods makes it out alive. Highlands expands the fight with massive-scale engagements for 8 – 16 players in Big Team Battle, Team Slayer and Team Objective.
Unearthed :Unearthed takes the battle for Reach to a large Titanium mine and refinery located in the Viery civilian sector of the planet. This particular mine was built to take advantage of the exposed titanium inside a massive meteor crater. The titanium produced here is used in much of the UNSC hardware, from the chassis of the Warthog to the meters-thick armor plating of capital ships like the UNSC Pillar of Autumn. While this facility was quickly abandoned when the Covenant arrived on Reach, it still has significant tactical (and economic) value and it won’t be long before both humans and Covenant return to battle for control. Unearthed allows up to 4 players to launch a counterassault against the Covenant in Firefight and Firefight modes such as Generator Defense.
The Defiant Map Pack will be released in March (2011) for 800 Microsoft Points.
It’s been fascinating to see the rumor mill grinding away from the opposite side of the fence these last few years. As a fan, there’s this devilish sense of defiant giddiness that washes over you when you realize you might have been granted access to something much earlier than anyone ever expected. It’s like sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve to fondle your presents, surgically removing the tape, and getting your first good look at what will be in store for you in the morning.
Some children get so worked up that they just want to run off, scrawl their name on a scrap of paper, and deliver their triumphant message for the whole entire Internet to see, like a made-for-TV antagonist providing undeniable proof of their dastardly crimes. Others just can’t wait to tear open the wrapping paper and play with some new toys.
Per policy, you probably already know that I’m not going into any details about whatever it is that I'm on about today. I’m already straddling a somewhat ill-defined line with my opening remarks. That said, there is a proper time and a place for this sort of thing, and it won’t be too much longer until everything is out in the open all official like, and things start to make a little more sense.
Stay tuned.
This is sorta mixed message. More Specifically the last part where he says "and things start to make a little more sense". Which leads me to believe that maybe, 343 industries decided to try their hand at Reach and made a map pack. Maybe this is the Map pack Bungie has been working on after releasing the Noble DLC.
Who knows, only time will tell.
See the blog post below for a link to the HD Pics of the maps.
